George Floyd’s killer should face first-degree murder

Ihave anguished over George Floyd’s unconscionable death. As national protests have taken root for the second straight week, it is clear that our country is roiled by his killing, which has torn the endless news of the pandemic off of the front page of every newspaper in America.

Floyd, a 46-year old black man, moved to Minneapolis from Houston several years ago in the hopes of finding work and starting a new life. He lost his job at a restaurant when Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz issued a stay-at-home order.

Floyd’s arrest began when he was yanked out of his SUV based on an allegation that he used a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes.

Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin arrived at the scene nine minutes after Floyd had been handcuffed.

Chauvin, a white officer, has been the subject of 17 prior police misconduct claims and involved in two police shootings, one of them fatal, before this incident.

Chauvin and Floyd once worked security shifts at the same nightclub and would have at least crossed paths according to the club’s former owner.

Chauvin became involved in the struggle to get Floyd into the back of the police car. Chauvin pulled him through the back seat of the vehicle and face down onto the street.

Footage shows that all four officers were gathered around Floyd who is face down on the pavement. Three of these officers applied pressure to his neck, torso and legs. That video stops abruptly when one of the officers tells the person videotaping to walk away.

Fortunately, another bystander began recording a video from another angle. It shows Chauvin continuing to pin Floyd face down with his knee thrust to his neck.

Floyd pleads for his life and begs the officers to stop. You can hear Floyd, saying, “I can’t breathe, man…please” and saying “Mama” and “Please”. Floyd says that he can’t breathe at least sixteen times before he becomes unconscious.

Chauvin pushes his knee against Floyd’s neck to the pavement for eight minutes and 46 seconds, according to the prosecutor’s complaint. Two minutes and 53 seconds of this occurred after Floyd’s eyes were closed and he appears unconscious.

Let that settle in. Put this column down for three minutes and imagine a loved one being pinned down.

Experts hired by Floyd’s family and the Hennepin County

Examiner concluded that his death was a homicide.

Justice demands that all four of the officers be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible, which is why I was pleased to hear that the Minnesota Attorney General announce this week that Chauvin’s charges would be upgraded to second-degree murder.

However, the totality of the circumstances here dictates that Chauvin should be charged with first-degree murder. The jury could be given the opportunity to find him guilty of second-degree murder if they can’t unanimously agree on first-degree murder charges.

Under Minnesota law, a person who causes the death of a human being with premeditation and with intent to effect the death of the person is guilty of first-degree murder. Minnesota case law has held that, a finding of premeditation does not require proof of extensive planning or preparation to kill, nor does it require any specific period of time for deliberation.

Floyd was unarmed, in handcuffs, and he wasn’t actively resisting. In fact, he wasn’t even moving. He was, however, begging for his life until he lied motionless. Chauvin violated police policy and continued to apply pressure against his.

These moments demand accountability by those that we hold in a position of trust.

As a society, we must also understand why revolts and protests have swept the nation in the middle of a pandemic that has claimed the lives of over 100,000 people. The same people who are being disproportionately killed by police are dying disproportionately of COVID-19. They have been pushed to unemployment and forced to work dangerous essential jobs while a good chunk of Americans pleasantly work from home, oblivious to the suffering.

White Americans, like me, should examine our own privilege in order to understand and take action to tear down the walls that allow racial inequities to still exist in America. White privilege includes the power to remain silent in the face of racial inequity; the power to weigh the need for protest against the discomfort of speaking up.

America cannot heal what we cannot acknowledge. We must face our own biases and confront the overwhelming comfort in the status quo that allows institutionalized racism to continue and fester.

Doug Friednash is a Denver native, a partner with the law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber and Schreck and the former chief of staff for Gov. John Hickenlooper.